Therese disagreed. ‘What really sticks out in this case, in my opinion, is how quickly and smartly the killer acted. The way he left the school that night, for instance. Away from the CCTV cameras, onto the roof. In all probability he left with the microphone case, too, which we still haven’t found. If Tobias did all that … if he really is our killer … why would he be so thick-headed as to keep a victim’s keys?’

Yngve gave that some thought.

‘It’s a good question,’ he said. ‘Let’s find him and ask.’

56

56

As I left the house, a terrifying thought occurred to me. What if my brother had disappeared because somebody wanted to get rid of him?

There was a killer on the loose in Fredheim. Maybe Tobias had needed to take a walk or something after our fight last night – he often went out to get a chocolate bar or a can of drink or something. What if he met someone who wanted to hurt him or maybe even kill him?

I went back to Tobias’s school, in the hope that he’d shown up later that morning. I knew I was clutching at straws, but I managed to see Tobias’s head teacher, a woman named Sara Anvik. At first she appeared cautious about talking to me. I guess she too had heard the rumours. When I told her we didn’t know where my brother was at the moment, her hesitation turned to worry. I didn’t tell her the police were involved.

‘He does spend a lot of time on his own, your brother. I’ve tried to get him to join in on a couple of things, but he doesn’t want to or say much.’

‘He’s not being bullied, is he?’

‘I don’t think so. He’s just very quiet.’

On my way out, I was stopped by Tom Hulsker, the teacher I had spoken to earlier that morning.

‘Hello again.’ I could hear the concern in his voice. ‘Have you found your brother yet?’I shook my head. I was about to walk past him, when I thought of something else. ‘Mr Hulsker, this morning you said you knew my dad quite well.’

He nodded. I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke from his clothes.

‘My girlfriend, the girl who was murdered, was writing a piece about my dad and me for the school paper. She didn’t come to see you, by any chance, for some background information?’

‘Me? Mari Lindgren?’

I nodded. He had a sudden bewildered look on his face.

‘No, she didn’t.’

I explained to him the kind of story Mari was researching.

Tom Hulsker checked his wristwatch, looked at me and said: ’Let’s go outside. I don’t have a class at the moment, and I want a cigarette.’